Day one
Day one I went from here to Homedale Idaho. Had a nice tailwind the whole way took less than 6 hours to get there. I spent the night in Homedale and left Saturday morning and headed North. I went up Hwy 95 and stopped in Council for fuel. Have no clue what it cost me and there's only like 2 buildings on the field. From there I followed the Salmon River on up till I got near Grangeville. Got into some pretty heavy rain from a cell that was pushing through the area. I deviated to the West and finally ended up in Orofino. The weather was good so after talking to my Dad for a minute I headed for Elk River. The weather was crap there and getting worse so I blasted out and went to CPTPA which is a private strip that I received permission to land on.Landing that strip was cool because I've known people that worked out there and been around that strip since I was a kid. CPTPA is a forest fighting outfit and they use that strip for moving people into and out of the brush. I always dreamed of landing my own plane there someday. I caught a ride into town and was able to surprise my Mom at work. The look on her face was worth the whole trip. She had no idea I was coming. My baby sister just moved away a month ago so she's trying to adjust to an empty nest after 30 years of raising kids. Seeing one of her kids unannounced was just what the doctor ordered I think.
Sunday morning I took off and went to Orofino and picked up my Dad. Him and I then flew to Elk River. My Dad had my airplane for 4 years before I picked it up and finished it. He did a lot of the restoration on it. This was the first time he'd gotten to fly with me in it so the flight had some sentimental value to it. We landed the normal way at Elk River and got absolutely rocked on short final. It was pretty sporty. There were 4 other planes in there including a 206 and they all reported the same thing. Use caution landing there if there's any wind...the trees must of been causing a rotor or something as it was a lateral type sheer. We got some Huckleberry Pancakes at the lodge and visited with a bunch of old friends that were there for the weekend flying their Powered Parachutes. There was also an ATV mud bog going on at the town end of the airstrip so lots of people around. We took back off and flew back to Orofino.
Monday I left Orofino early and had one of my most Epic flying sessions I've ever done. It was dead calm and smooth as glass everywhere. I spent almost two hours flying low and fast through the fields up on the Prairie and diving down through some of the canyons up there. Saw the biggest Mule Deer buck Ive ever seen. I happened to notice I was really close to Nezperce so I popped in there and did another drop in on an old friend from High School I have not seen in years that lived right by the strip. After 2 hours of screwing off between Orofino and Grangeville I finally needed to go and get gas. I filled up in Grangeville and headed South. I scoped out Slate Creek on the way up and wanted to land it so I dropped into the Canyon and did that. All the way down the Salmon was smooth. I stayed in the Canyon the whole way down skimming the ridgetops on both sides of the river it was an absolute blast. I got into Ontario, Oregon about noontime. I have another friend that lives in Fruitland Idaho so I stayed the night with him.
Took off at daylight yesterday for what would become the most miserable day of flying I've ever had. I had a 20mph headwind all day and the Turbulence was relentless. I went direct to Alturas from Ontario and ended up having to land out in the desert to relieve myself...that is a desolate leg out there once you get past Burns. That's the first time I've ever hit nearest on the Garmin and the closest airport was 71 miles away and it was behind me. Finally got to Alturas and filled up. Took off in a 6100ft density altitude at near gross...this little airplane keeps on impressing me..I was off in less than 500ft.
I crossed the hill just North of Burney Mountain which was a lot nicer than going over the Sierras at Sierraville where I normally cross. It was bumpy as all hell all the way through there. Had I not really needed to get home I would have landed and waited till evening to continue. I just slowed way down and kept plugging along. I hit the valley between Redding and Red Bluff and headed South. I stopped into Rancho Tehama 12 miles SW of Red Bluff to see another friend. It's a private airpark that requires permission to land. That guy's house was 100ft from the runway and he had three flyable planes in the garage/hangar..talk about living the dream.
From there it was only 1.5 hours home but again it was hot and bumpy and I had 20 right in my face. My groundspeed was in the 60 mph range the whole way down the valley. When I finally got home the winds were 30 degrees off gusting to 22. Fun stuff after flying for 10 hours. I put almost 9 hours on the hobbs just yesterday trying to get down from Ontario it was a LONG day of flying in a plane like mine. I was pretty happy when the airplane was put away in the hangar. Just taxiing back was a chore in 22kt gusts. That's the first time I've ever really wanted out of an airplane. I know I was asking for it flying that country in those conditions in the middle of the day.
Overall another awesome trip and adventure. This was my first long trip by myself. I wish I would have had more time because flying for 10-12 hours at a time and through the middle of the day takes some of the fun out of it but sometimes you do what you have to in order to make it work. Enough rambling here are some of the better pics I took.
Burning Man in the Black Rock desert...it was much bigger than I ever imagined.
Owyhee River
Lava Field
Some weird designs in this field
Headed North
Riggins Idaho
White Bird Hill
Up by Grangeville someplace...right before I got into the rain
Parked in Orofino
Dworshak Reservoir
Beautiful up there
CPTPA
Elk River
Mystery spot
Slate Creek
Salmon river canyon
